The only British woman to complete Norway's most gruelling dog-sled race is once again harnessing her huskies to take part for The Christie, one of Europe's leading cancer centres.

Melanie Clegg, 39, who was born in Oldham and brought up in Middleton, became the first British woman to enter and complete the 300 mile race, called the Finnmark in 2009.

Husky 'musher' Melanie, who is a Manchester City fan, was posted to Norway with the RAF in 2002 and decided to stay.

She is now the Parish organist in Vadso, in the far north east of the country.

Melanie said; "I wanted to do something for The Christie because cancer touches the lives of so many people. We all know friends and family who have been affected."

Melanie races with eight Alaskan husky dogs and will aim to complete five races this season of various lengths and distances - but her main goal is the most difficult race - the Finnmark. With over 1,000 miles of training with the dogs under her belt, this will be the third year in a row Melanie has taken part.

She said; "The race season on snow runs from December until mid-April.  The Finnmark in March is a race I've started and completed twice, being the only British woman to do so, I believe.

"The 300-mile race takes about two and a half days, and it's not just a case of standing on the back of the sled, watching the scenery.  My dogs and I are together as one team.  I help the dogs as much as possible with the movement of the sled, and I organise their rest and eating to allow for maximum use of their fantastic energy resources.

"If I'm lucky, I'll manage a few hours sleep in the course of the whole race.  The dogs sleep more than I do."

She added; "The races are extremely gruelling - you're taking part in driving snow, in the dark, the weather can be as cold as minus 35 and you have to work very hard with the sled and eight dogs with not much sleep. But it's the determination and will to tackle something, which made me think of people fighting cancer."

Sporting events officer at the Christie charity, Marco Giannini said; "This is such an unusual challenge and certainly not one that we've come across before at the Christie charity. We would like to wish Melanie the best of luck for the races.

"We are always open to new and exciting ways of raising money for our charity. Every penny donated goes towards additional services for cancer patients at The Christie."

To sponsor Melanie visit www.justgiving.com/prospectchristie or for more details about the race season visit her website www.prospecthuskies.com

Meet the news team